Stanford today

Michelle Smith

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, September 13, 2008

Who: Stanford (1-1) vs. Texas Christian (2-0)

Where: Fort Worth, Texas

When: 10 a.m.

Radio: 860

What's on the line

Stanford looks to bounce back from last week's 41-17 loss at Arizona State with a nonconference road win on what could be a nasty day. Heavy rain and high winds are predicted as Hurricane Ike moves north through Texas.

What to watch for

TCU's best moves: The Horned Frogs have displayed a high-powered offense. TCU ran for 320 yards last week in a 67-7 win over Stephen F. Austin, with junior tailback Joseph Turner scoring three touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Andy Dalton has completed 71.1 percent of his passes. Dalton threw for 344 against the Cardinal last year.

Stanford's counter: The Cardinal defensive line has played well against the run, giving up an average of 106 yards. Last week against Arizona State, the linemen hit quarterback Rudy Carpenter hard and often. Pressure is once again paramount.

Stanford's best moves: Special teams. This game might come down to a tough kick or a breakthrough return. Aaron Zagory is 3-for-4 on field goals and David Green is averaging 44.6 yards per punt. Sophomore Jeremy Stewart is averaging 30.0 yards per kick return.

TCU's counter: The Frogs' kicker, freshman Ross Evans, is also 3-for-4, including a 50-yarder on his first collegiate field goal attempt. Junior linebacker Daryl Washington blocked three punts last year, tied for tops in the country.

Who's hurting

Note of note

Stanford fell 41-38 to TCU in October at Stanford Stadium. ...TCU is 10-2 in its past 12 games against teams from conferences with automatic BCS bids.

Final word

"For the team, this is like the Super Bowl. This is a really big game, a chance for us to go 2-1, out of conference, in Texas, a big football state. I think this is a huge game for us, for our season."